Paper is frequently supplied from paper mills in the form of rolls, of length and width required by the purchaser. In the final stage of manufacture a band of paper, from a reel which may be thirteen or fourteen feet wide, is passed through apparatus which cuts the band into a number of longitudinal strips, of selected widths, and rewinds them all simultaneously about a common axis, to give a set of rolls which abut end to end, each roll being between six and a half inches and thirty-six inches in width, and the rolls having a common diameter of thirty inches to fifty inches, for example.
In theory these rolls are entirely separate after rewinding, but in practice little overlaps occur during the rewinding process, due to uneven moisture in the set, or to vibration in the rewinding machinery caused by excess bearing clearance in the machine, or development of out-of-round in the rolls being rewound. Paper movement is at the rate of 5000 to 7000 feet per minute, so it is extremely difficult to avoid vibrations.
After a roll of the desired diameter is rewound, it is removed from the machine and the shaft on which the paper was rewound is pulled out of the roll axially. Normally about half of the rolls break apart axially fairly easily; others may be separated by manually inserting one end of a pipe axially into the end of the roll, and lifting up on the other end of the pipe with a snapping or dropping action. This is obviously a procedure calling not only for skill but for physical strength, and back injuries to paper makers performing this function are not uncommon.
It also frequently happens that two or more rolls are so bound together by overlaps that they cannot be separated as above, and it becomes necessary to drive wooden wedges between the rolls to separate them. This is injurious to the paper, and purchasers sometimes refuse to accept paper bearing wedge marks.
It is thus desirable to develop apparatus for separating or "breaking" the rolls from a rewinding machine easily, efficiently, safely, and without damage to the paper.